The Cadbury Easter Creme egg has had more of an impact on my psyche than the time I got a spiral perm. That story, plus an alarming fact about this tasty treat.
Is this the kind of Easter morning breakfast you indulge in? No? Me neither. But this scene doesn't even come CLOSE to a truly alarming Easter Creme Egg fact. ( Skip right to the facts.)
I used to feel "off" every time March marched around. Irritable, listless, just not myself. Why all the melancholy you ask? It was the time of year. Spring was in the air, the sun was shining, the days were longer and flowers were gathering the strength to burst through the soil. It was just awful.
This feeling of emptiness crashed down on me every year because I had no one to buy me ... an Cadbury Creme Egg. Some women want diamonds. I want an inexpensive chocolatey treat I could easily buy myself.
But that wasn't the point. I wanted someone to BUY IT FOR ME.
When I was young my father would give me an Easter Creme Egg (and weirdly, several sticks of hot pepperoni) every Easter. After that my boyfriend took over the Creme Egg duty and a couple of times prior to Easter he'd pop a couple out of his pocket while we were watching television at night.
It is the only Easter decoration I've ever loved.
After 7 long years of being stubborn, this year I decided to suck it up honey and I bought my own Cadbury Creme Egg. But in keeping with the surprise aspect of it, I tucked them (yes more than one) away in a drawer to forget about until I remembered them.
I'm sneaky like that. Combined with my perimenopausal forgetfulness I KNEW I'd be able to surprise myself.
And I did.
For anyone new around here I can assure you that I am, generally speaking, quite independant. For instance, I buy my own toilet paper, dish soap, gas, and drill presses.
There was just something about not having someone to buy me that Easter Creme Egg that bothered me. Now it doesn't bother me at all. Now what bothers me is I've realized I can in fact buy my own. On account of this I've eaten 14 Easter Creme Eggs this year.
I fear if I don't find a new boyfriend or father soon that children will start poking me with sticks just to watch me ooze fondant.
Table of Contents
FACTS ABOUT THE CADBURY CREME EGG
What IS it we love about it so much? And what happened 5 years ago that sent people screaming in the streets in a Cadbury Easter Creme Egg revolt?! All that and more coming up ...
The Cadbury Creme Egg is probably a lot older than you think it is. Not the one you bought at the variety store last week (although to be honest with you if the filling is solid I don't like your chances of it being certified fresh) but the Cadbury Creme Egg in general.
- The Easter Creme Egg was first introduced in 1963, but it was called a Fry's Creme Egg.
- In 1971 it was renamed as The Cadbury's Creme Egg.
- The Cadbury Egg's filling is a version of fondant.
- There is a world record for the fastest eating of a Creme Egg. 8.6 seconds for a single egg. Doesn't seem all that impressive to me.
- The foil packaging used to have a chick on it and was green, blue, red and yellow. Now the foil has no chick and is the colours used are purple, red and yellow.
- In Canada the Creme Egg is no longer packaged in the iconic foil, but rather in a stupid plastic shell which literally every single person in Canada hates.
- There is an elusive WHITE CHOCOLATE Easter Creme Egg. It went on sale in the UK in 2018 and then again in 2019. The catch? They were wrapped in the same foil as the milk chocolate ones so buyers had NO idea if they're getting the rare white chocolate egg until they unwrapped it. ALL white chocolate Cadbury Eggs came with a minimum prize of $100 British Pounds.
- A single egg has 150 calories.
- How long do you have to exercise to burn off those calories? Pftt. Who cares.
- THEY ARE SHRINKING. In the UK where they originated the Creme Egg is actually 1 gram heavier than they were in the past but in Canada and the US the Easter Creme eggs have shrunk from 39 grams to 34 grams over the years.
- 2015 was the year of the great Cadbury Creme Egg debacle. The company announced it changed from using Dairy Milk to using Cocoa mix chocolate in their eggs. The world went wild with anger, people crying and screaming in the streets, ultimately boycotting the product in disgust. Creme Egg sales dropped by 12 million dollars that year. ....... What Cadbury didn't mention was the product was always made from a Cocoa mix chocolate. They had only tried the Dairy Milk for a while before realizing the more expensive product didn't make their eggs any better.
- It is "Creme" egg. Not "Cream" egg.
But MOST alarming is this one Cadbury Easter Creme Egg fact.
In April of 2019, this hit the shelves in the UK. If you have children in the room you might want to send them out for this next bit.
That's right. It's Heinz Easter Creme Egg flavoured mayonnaise. In other words, tangy, creamy mayonnaise that has a sickeningly chocolate and fondant spin to it.
The alarm this caused in the UK when it was introduced in 2019 resulted in various people dropping to the ground immediately curled up into the fetal position asking to be nudged when the nightmare was over.
Cadbury eggs in mayo?
What Are Cadbury Eggs Made Of??
- The dark brown outer portion of the egg is coyly described as being made of "chocolate-like" ingredients.
- The filling, is a a combination of a white and a yellow fondant that when placed together looks like an egg yolk and white. The fondant filling is an inverted sugar syrup concoction made by combining fondant with the enzyme invertase. It's the invertase that makes the centre runny.
Who invented the Cadbury Creme Egg?
This is an interesting story. It was the coming together of two companies that resulted in the creme filled egg.
- Cadbury was started in 1824 when John Cadbury opened up a shop that sold tea, coffee and chocolate (for drinking).
- In 1847 his competitor, Joseph Fry, starting making moldable chocolate in the form of bars.
- This revelation sparked Cadbury to do the same, but it wasn't until 1875 that Cadbury created the first hollow chocolate egg filled with sugary treats. But not creme.
- In 1919 Fry and Cadbury merged and in 1923 they introduced the very first creme filled chocolate eggs.
- In 1963 what you know as the Cadbury Creme Egg was invented (called they Fry's Creme Egg). In 1971 the name was changed to the Cadbury Creme Egg.
What Exactly
It all brings me back to being a kid in Canada when someone at Hostess not only came up with the idea of Grape flavoured potato chips but convinced the company to make and sell them.
If I had to guess why the Easter Creme Egg has be so deeply and emotionally ingrained in my psyche I'd have to point to this.
I don't know how old I would have been exactly when this commercial came out but it would have been young. Maybe 7? I remember being enthralled with how happy everyone in it was. Having fun and wearing ice cream hats and roller skating their hearts out. The idea of the magical Easter Creme Egg representing happiness, fun and being with the people you love was engrained.
Now this single woman has to strap on her roller skates and find herself a variety store.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
erin
I like Cadbury eggs, which is surprising because I only really like dark chocolate ( I wish that they came in Dark chocolate, but I'm sure people would complain about another version ), but what I really like are Laura Secord eggs. They now make fake Cadbury eggs ( they are crap ) , but their box of mini eggs ( not same as mini Cadbury eggs ) are the perfect size. If you can't trust yourself with a whole box ( maybe 10? ), then throw them in the bottom/back of your freezer and forget about them ( lol ) , or buy a box and share with family and friends.
Jennifer
I second the vote for Laura Secord Eggs. Especially the ones with peanut butter and nuts! I used to get one in my Easter Basket and then, when I was "too old" for a basket my mom would still give me the Laura Secord Egg right up until I was in my twenties!
Lez
I'm SO with you Erin, & really surprised there weren't more comments saying they wish they made them in Dark chocolate as well! So much less sweet!
I miss the chick on the wrapper, & they definitely have shrunk!
I simply can't believe a progressive, first world country like Canada, now puts them in plastic UFO's! Our poor oceans...
I also wonder whether anyone else always licked out all the creme first?! :)
Mary W
I don't like milk chocolate and have always wished for a dark choc cadbury. Karen, we challenge you to come up with an Art of Doing Stuff Creme Egg that is dark choc or at least has that aforementioned dark choc ganache inside. KAREN, are you listening?
Karen
I am indeed listening, lol. ~ karen!
meg
Hahah oh, Cadbury eggs. I remember distinctly eating twelve of them one year *before* Easter morning breakfast when I was a kid once. (I was really disappointed later when I realized I didn't have very many more of them in my basket....hahah.) I really wish I still had that metabolism....because I have NO qualms about driving to the store and buying myself a pound of them to eat! (I'd send you some from the US but it'd be a little sketchy to receive food merely wrapped in foil from a stranger on the internet.)
Karen
:) ~ karen!
LibrarianNancy
Not a Creme Egg lover. Too sweet for me, although I do think the clucking non-bunny commerical is cute. But show me a Reese's PB and chocolate egg...
Ev Wilcox
This savory girl can only stand one of thee sweet bombs a year! Since everyone else here liked them, they were/are a part of the Easter baskety theme. So I would freeze mine, and cut it in slices so I wouldn't have a partial, sticky, oozing thing left over! My eldest will be here for Easter, so I will get some for him, and not much else! My husband of 51 years is now diabetic and sliding into dementia, and will not stay away from forbidden stuff, so we just can't have it around. I remember getting three baskets ready before I went to bed, and the kids' delight in the morning. Now we have just some fruit, as always, and no candy. Sigh....
Yabut
Horrible things, but I know someone who is addicted. He's also alone and blue so maybe you're right.
jeanne
Doh!
Now I have to go buy one...
Bonnie Harris
Love them, but I love our home made chocolate covered cream eggs even more. It's a recipe my family has been making since forever (since Condensed Milk was a thing probably). Here's a link to it in my online family cookbook. Children love to make them, they're that easy, and you can decorate them so they are also Eastery and beautiful. https://sleepyheadbon.weebly.com/easter-eggs.html
Catherine
Do you really use paraffin wax? Is there a substitute?
Mary W
I had a friend that used wax in her choc covered peanut butter balls. They were good but I couldn't get past the wax. I made with without and there was no difference. They probably would melt in your fingers easier but they don't stay in my fingers long enough!
Bonnie Harris
I know what you mean. I have made them without wax and they're just as good, maybe not quite as shiny. It must have been something people didn't worry about in my grandmother's day.
Cottontailfarm
Wow. THANK YOU for sharing! I will be making these for sure!
P.s. My grandma used paraffin for making sweets too and it didn't kill a single one of us. Eating too many of these egg candies might not be in my best interest if I want to continue fitting into my pants though.
Brenda
I hate commercials in general. But every year around this time, Cadbury pulls out their Cadbury bunny tryouts commercial and I giggle. 20+ years they've been airing this gem (if you believe some of the info on youtube). Who doesn't love a whole bunch of non-chickens trying to cluck like one?!!
Marjorie Kramer
Yes! So clever. Still won't eat them, despite the cute commercial and Karen's glowing testimonial. Hope everyone finds some joy this season!
Stephbo
I can guarantee they've been airing them 20+ years because my bff and I have a long running joke that she's the Cadbury Bunny. We've been getting each other with "Bok! Bok!" since I was in college.
Melissaa
That ad! LOL.
I used to love Whispas and Lion Bars (Nestle), but neither tastes like they used to (at least the last time I tried them, which was probably five years ago on the Whispa and 15 on the latter).
I have kids who usually find a creme egg in their Easter basket ^_^
Lesley on the Mountain
I love being able to go to one of the many British-import stores here, and buying a proper Creme egg made in the UK. Our Canadian ones are pretty good too, way better than the ones you can buy in the US. I made the mistake one year, of buying my kids their Easter chocolate in the States, and they were SO annoyed with me; it's just grittier or something. Anyway, get out to King's Cross, there on King St. Karen, and buy yourself a 'proper' Cadbury egg :)
Kimberly M.
I have to eat at least one each year, or life isn’t complete. I always have to check through the big display box for one that doesn’t look unwrapped in any way because that foil is flimsy... and I try not to think about the potential for foul play 😆. Maybe I should buy them in the 3 pack... but then I’d have to eat all 3, and it would all happen within 30 minutes... and then I would feel ashamed... so I don’t think I’ll be doing that.
Nicole
Here in the States the three pack is now a four pack. Or maybe it always was, and I never noticed when I immigrated.
Paula
Wow - I remember that commercial! I always loved those thigh-high legwarmers...
Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (as we always called them because of that exact commercial), were part of my childhood and to this day (multi-decades later), I still love them. I used to save the foil wrappers so I'm gonna rummage around and see if I still have a few from the '70s!
Now go git yerself a dang Creme Egg, Karen!
Lori Hope
I'm thinking you could hide them in the couch, and surprise yourself that way?
Eileen
Especially if you accidentally sit on them....
Karen Ulric
Heading to London a few days before Easter - will have to try the original UK version.
Heidi Lee
I loved loved the detailed info about the C. Creme egg. Glad ours are foil wrapped still and slightly smaller.....
I recommend the Kinder Joy eggs. Comes with a toy surprise and chocolate ganash with a tiny spoon to savor it with. And who doesn't need a surprise!
Thera
Always hated these, so glad they’ve come out with caramel eggs!
Susan Claire
I'm with you-never could stand those sickly sweet calorie bombs. But caramel? Willing to try.
Maggie Andrew
A fish and chip shop near my hometown in Yorkshire, England had “Deep fried Cadbury’s creme eggs” advertised , I asked the owner what they were like and he replied “A bit sickly!!” Enjoy yours.
Luanne
I certainly didn't expect to hear Back In The New York Groove as the theme song!! 😁
Jules
My local peregrine is winging this over to you as you read. She's pretty fast I've heard. This is the only type she's laying so far, the little fecker. Running way late with the proper ones, y'know, the type you can fry.
Karen
LOL! Thanks! I'll sit on the front porch and await her arrival! ~ karen
lisa
AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Anj
I love Easter Creme eggs. I am guilty of slowly eating a 745 gram bag of Mini Easter eggs - Easter Creme Eggs, Cadbury Eggs, and Cadbury Chocolate Eggs. I am hoping to make it last until Easter. I have no problem buying my own Easter Creme Eggs.
Karen
I suppose I could buy my own. But that just takes the magic out of them for me. Kind of like hiding your own chocolate eggs every Easter morning. I mean ... I do it, but ... the magic is gone. ~ karen!
Miriam Mc Nally
As Easter falls this year on April Fools Day, you could organise an egg hunt for eggs you haven't hidden!